Every Rose Has Thorns
by Briardust
Summary: Not human. Not blood. Kin. Like her. Vampire.
1. Prologue

The fire, the pain… what could be worse?

How many days had passed since this started? The begging for death? How long was it before it stopped, when Rose opened her eyes and everything was clear. The eight-colored rainbow, the strength, the… thirst.

Running through the forest, smelling something, almost human, but not quite. Leaping onto it, tackling it, and being surprised when it fought back.

Not human. Not blood.

Kin. Like her.

Vampire.


	2. Chapter 1: Happily Ever After

"And they all lived happily ever after. The end."

The amber-eyed boy looked up, pale skin set off by sandy brown hair. He flashed a blinding grin at his companion before looking down at the pale, blonde girl. Only 6, she was easily satisfied with slightly advanced picture books.

She, however, like most of the world, was unaware of the fact that the boy, Gabe, and his companion, Rose, could have read her Snow White in Mandarin (all branches), Spanish, Hindi, Arabic, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, German, Italian, and 57 others, including Czech and Swedish.

Rose smiled back, dark, rich chestnut hair to her shoulder blades accenting her white shirt and dark blue jeans. Her amber eyes glowed against her pale skin, smooth and hard as the moon.

"How do you do that, Gabe? Know exactly what she wants? It's almost like you can read her mind." Her smile became a smirk, and Gabe punched her lightly, for a vampire, on the shoulder.

The fact was, Gabe could read the little girl's mind. Rebecca, oblivious, started crinkling the pages. Quick as a flash, Gabe swiped the book from her hands, smooth them out, and shelved it.

Though he rarely used his powers, Gabe had been born with the ability to read minds, otherwise known as telepathy.

But sometimes, like now, he wished that it would be reversed, so he could give Rose a piece of his mind without scarring present company. He shrugged.

"Just a gift."

They sprinted away from the house after Rebecca came home, heading for Rose's house. Gabe lived inside the woods that fringed their house, so he hung out with the Gwins a lot.

But then a new scent found their senses- human and a strong scent of vampire. They ran to the source in a flash, and then sighed in relief. It was only Tom, another friend of theirs, and another sniff revealed that he had been hanging out with his girlfriend, Claire, who was a human.

"How's the human?" Gabe said, smiling. He always made fun of the black-haired, amber-eyed boy for having human girlfriends.

"I broke up with her. She was going to leave me, and I wanted to make it hard. I could tell it was hard for her." His voice broke on 'hard', and he ducked away.

Rose held her shoulder with his hand. "I'm so sorry, Tom."

Gabe shivered, and Rose looked over in a millisecond, confused. He shook his head. He would tell her later. But there was one part he couldn't explain.

Why was he angry that when Rose touched him, Tom was ecstatic?


	3. Chapter 2: Lollipops and Phone Calls

Rose thoughtfully sucked on the lollipop. The bland but mildly delicious taste overwhelmed her, and she casually removed it from her mouth. Rebecca, her blonde curls bouncing, ran over squealing with Gabe in close pursuit. They were in the girl's lush backyard, taking a break from being inside.

Rose dropped her lollipop on the ground. "Whoops! Oh, no!" She bent down to retrieve the dirty, stained treat. The girl's blue eyes dropped as Gabe tackled her playfully. Sensing her concern, he let go.

"Rose dropped her lollipop!" The girl lamented. Rose stood up from the white picket fence surrounded by woods tucked neatly behind the tan house and hugged her. "Don't worry, Becca. I'm not that hungry anyways." The sound of the family's car purred closer- Rose guessed about a mile. "Now let's get you inside before your Mommy and Daddy get home." Gabe gently steered the child back into the house, with Rose trailing behind. As she closed the door, she saw for a split second amber eyes blinking out of the darkness, but it was gone sooner than she could have run there. Rose closed the screen door.

As soon as the lock clicked the the heavy door behind the screen one, the boy raced into the yard. He went to peek inside the window, and something crunched below his foot. He looked down instinctively.

On the ground was a single shattered lollipop.

Rose stalked forward, intent upon her prey. Her thirst burned heavily in the back of her throat, and she buried the instinct to growl. She leaped onto the elk and buried her face into its neck. It flopped down, still.

After it was drained, she looked up. Gabe was watching her from across the clearing, where he was finishing up his own prey, a large buck. He was watching her.

 _You better not be reading my mind._ She hissed internally, and he chuckled. "Not anymore." He said.

 _Liar._ He laughed again.

 _Since I can't keep you out of my head, I'll ask you a question without wasting my voice on you. Are my eyes okay yet?_

"Yeah." He said, nodding. "Mine?"

She examined his eyes, searching for the slightest of tone differences.

 _You can see as well as I can. But I think so._ He nodded.

 _Let's get back to my parents'. And please, really do leave my head._

"Okay." He said.

 _If you are listening, Gabe, I will personally burn you…_

There was no response. She sighed in relief.

"Waiting for me to double-cross?" Gabe joked.

 _No, just knowing you will._ She said. There was no response. Gabe tensed. "Did I say something wrong?"

She laughed. "No. I just didn't believe you."

By that time they had reached Rose's house. Large and white, the back door stood open.

They were standing in a humongous, white room. The left wall was floor-to-ceiling windows with light oak frames, the carpets lush and soft. Go through the door in front of them, and you would be at the front door, with the dining hall and kitchen on the left and the room with the staircase to the right. At the moment, they stood in a cream-and-white living room, with a large flat screen TV, luxurious couches, and relaxing chairs. Rose ran over to the phone that stood on an oak stand near the TV. She quickly dialed the number.

"Hello, Rose." The comforting male voice responded. She relaxed slightly, exhaling out of habit. "Lumen." She said, voice scolding. "Where the hell have you been?" She felt a slight probing at the edges of her brain, and let Gabe in. She didn't want to waste time explaining later. "Thanks." He called. She turned her attention back to the phone as her surrogate father explained- the whole ordeal had taken a twenty-fifth of a second.

"We're out hunting, too." Lumen replied. She gave a frustrated growl. "Callie's with you?" She asked finally. "Yeah." He replied. "We're coming back soon- we were down by Longview." Rose hissed. Longview was roughly 50 miles away from Long Beach, Washington, where they lived. It could take them all of 45 minutes to get back without being noticed. "Hurry back." She said. "Anything wrong?" It was the wind-chime voice of her mother, Carmen, or Callie. "No." She replied. "Just getting lonely."

"Isn't Gabe with you?" Callie asked.

"I'm bored of Gabe." She said, and out of the corner of her eye she saw him smirk.

"Then go see Tom." She suggested.

Silence.

"Bye, Mom." "But-" The phone cut off. Rose needed some privacy. _Bug off, you annoying little twerp!_ She hissed inwardly. She heard a low snarl and a "Now, Rose-" Before she blocked Gabe out of her hearing. She was up the plush stairs in a half a second, and threw herself onto her pink bed the next. She buried her face in her pillow and tried to calm down. She tried her newest technique.

 _Pink canvas bed. White sheets. Pink comforter…_ She listed from memory the items in her room. _White desk, white rolly chair, cream carpet. Wooden dresser, nice clothes, big open windows. Cream curtains, wood vanity. Finished homework on expensive computer._

She had run out of things in a second. It usually took shorter. Maybe she should remember all her clothes. For practice.

 _Why don't I see Tom?_

The question startled her, yet she had no answer. Why didn't she see her friend? She reckoned he needed it. Claire had broken up with him only a week ago. Without dreams, there was no escaping the pain of rejection anymore.

Her mind was made up. She ripped her head out of her pillow and opened the window at the head of her bed. She finally gave in to the slight probing.

 _No, you shouldn't come up, although I know you're already at the foot of the stairs._ She thought. She let the information of her thoughts flood, sharp and sweet, over Gabe's mind.

 _Bye._

In that millisecond he was at her window in the middle of her empty room.

He was just in time to catch sight of a dash of fleeing chestnut hair before Rose disappeared.


	4. Chapter 3: All in the Mind

Rose sprinted, swirling through the trees like a small tornado. With strong, uncanny legs, she was able to push so far ahead that Gabe couldn't catch up. _Good._ She thought. _I don't need him here right now._ She leapt over a pond, a fallen tree, and a juniper bush on her way over to Tom's. She took a moment to appreciate the crystal-like dirt as it crunched beneath her feet- a bit of granite, if she was correct- before hopping the white picket fence into the Peligros' yard.

Tom was there, waiting for her. His sharp teeth smiled as he ran to join her, meeting her halfway within an eighth of a second and squeezing her close to him. She smiled as he held her tight in an embrace. He pulled away.

"How… are… you?" Rose asked tentatively. He grimaced.

"Just dandy."

"I'm so sorry-"

"Not your fault."

"I wish Gabe could tell truth from lie and back me up that I have reason to apologize."

Tom's smile was strained now. "How is Gabe?"

"Just fine. Should be here in a couple of seconds-"

Rose was cut off by the almost silent blur of Gabe wrenching her away from Tom with mighty force. He turned back to the boy, livid.

"Don't hurt her!"

Tom smiled. "You must be mistaken- we were embracing. Is that too much for you?"

Gabe snarled. "Why was she scowling?"

"We were talking about you, Psycho."

Rose bound Gabe's hands behind his back with her own before he could lunge; still, it was a considerable effort to restrain him. Muscles bulging, he gave Tom a death glare.

"What the hell is going on around here?" Rose asked, letting go of Gabe to slap him right across the face. She shook her head, mind confused, and almost felt tears prickle her eyes- even though it couldn't happen.

"Rose-" They chorused, Gabe pleading, Tom irritated. But Rose was gone, racing through the trees. Paying no attention to direction, she curved towards the house… and ran right into Gabe.

"Rose." He hissed.

"No."

"Rose…"

"What, Gabe?" She snarled, glaring at him. "What excuse do you have now for attacking my best friend?" Gabe blinked for a moment, then sighed and released her.

"It seems like I have an explanation in order." Rose snarled.

"You know that I can read minds, obviously. Recently, I've been reading Tom's mind a bit too much for my comfort. He seems to... pleasure in your company a bit… too much. Losing Claire, for him, seems to convince him to find a more permanent mate. One that could follow him… an immortal. A vampire. Specifically… Rose, he's taking a bit too much interest in you." He pursed his lips. "It bugs me."

Rose started laughing. Really, she couldn't help herself. Grinning, she pulled him to her and hugged him, hard skin against her.

"That's all?" She asked. Not waiting for an answer, she crushed her lips to his.

His response was instantaneous, automatic- his hand reached for her hair, pulled her closer. Surprised by his force, Rose fell back onto a sycamore. It was a show of strength that it didn't break. In the moment, though she knew she could snap Gabe in half, Rose felt as weak as… as a human.

The moment passed, and in a second, it had finished. But of course it had changed everything. Gabe lightly touched Rose's lips, and her mind went haywire. He smiled as he read it.

 _Gabe touch respond? don't know Gabe touch touch kiss Gabe Tom Gabe Tom Lumen confused Callie Claire Tom Tom Tom Gabe Gabe touch kiss kiss kiss touch fire touch kiss back lips face Gabe Gabe Gabe…_

Rose frowned and pulled her mind together. Gazing upward, she met Gabe's eyes. They smoldered, and his skin faintly glowed. In that moment, she was awestruck by his beauty.

"You should see yourself, then." He murmured. His deliciously bright eyes closed. And Rose knew why. Wanting to read her mind, crystalize and perfect this memory. Though, of course, he had perfect recall.

"No." He mumbled, soft frustrated.

"Are you okay?" Remaining in careful contact with his arm, Rose pulled away and stood straight up. She examined him worriedly, but saw nothing.

"Tom." He growled, and Rose stiffened impossibly more. "No, he's fine. It's just- his talent- and he's so far out- just checking. Hmm." His voice was relaxed now, speculative. "Interesting."

"What?" Rose asked impatiently.

"He wasn't looking for it, and he's pretty far, so it took a few seconds…" Gabe paused, as if concentrating. "Our relationship… changed."

"Describe it." She prompted softly.

"Well, you must understand, there are no words for his feelings. Sometimes they're clear cut. We were clear cut. But now, because he hasn't focused on us… wait, no, there. He's noticed… he sees-" Suddenly he jumped, snarling, and turned. Instinctively, Rose followed, crouching low to the ground. Gabe was muttering to himself, barely loud enough to be audible.

"Trees… trees… no, it's okay." A bit louder now. "He doesn't know where we are. But some trees are going to pay."  
"What did he see? Earlier?"

"Tentative. That was it. Oh- now it changed. Funny." All of a sudden, Rose was in his strong arms again. His lips pressed against her jawline.

"What does he see know?" Rose asked, right hand on his back and left hand holding his neck.

"Determination."


End file.
